So I walked into the Seattle area Fry's Electronics...

**jatrax** · 04-09-2012, 05:18 AM

Originally posted by enoxatnep

Or is it just a pitifully low market share in those places that doesn't justify retailers carrying Pentax?

I travel the USA quite a bit on business and when I have down time in a city I usually check for cameras stores. I have never seen a new Pentax camera at any retail store. Many places have a used section, and if you speak to the staff or owners they will comment nostalgically about when they used to carry Pentax. Several stores I have been in still have Spotmatics proudly on display, under glass and for display not for sale.

From what I have been told, when Hoya took over they raised the minimum order / stocking levels to a point that smaller stores could not afford to stock Pentax. I assumed this had happened in other countries as well. Glad you Canadians can still pick up a Pentax and hold it in a store. Enjoy that, and protect those stores by making purchases there, because when they are gone they never come back.

I really hope Ricoh can get Pentax boxes back into real stores. I still think the majority of purchases will be online, but often the purchasing decision is made in a real store where you can pick up the camera. And if brick & mortar prices are within 10% of online, then a lot of people will make the purchase in the store rather than online. And sales mean more shelf space, which in turn means more sales.

RioRico · 04-09-2012, 05:29 AM

Originally posted by enoxatnep

I find that so crazy, because here in Alberta - the province where I live - there is hardly a camera "specialty" store that DOESN'T have Pentax products. Interesting - I mean, I wonder why a major American city wouldn't have Pentax in a ton of places when we do? I've also read other comments like this in these forums about other places in the U.S. and in other countries. I wonder if it's the ineffectiveness of the Pentax reps in some places, or the over-effectiveness of the Canon and Nikon reps out there? Or is it just a pitifully low market share in those places that doesn't justify retailers carrying Pentax?

I've read that 1) Pre-Hoya Pentax didn't market well in USA anyway, and 2) Hoya-Pentax wouldn't front cameras to USA retailers, and required large stocking orders. B&M shops didn't want to pay for inventory to sit on their shelves, so they stopped carrying Pentax.

On fronting gear: In the post-modern era, Nikon and Canon placed cameras etc on store shelves and didn't get paid until stuff sold. Canikon lost piles of money when Ritz went bankrupt. Many megabucks of inventory was liquidated to pay lenders, not suppliers. Pentax required stores to pay for their stock, and so were immune to the bankruptsy. But B&M's prefer to be fronted the merchandise, so few stores in USA stock Pentax.

BTW bankrupt Ritz was absorbed by Wolfe and that chain still barely exists, I think. Their house brand? Promaster.

john5100 · 04-09-2012, 07:42 AM - **2 Likes**

The main reason US stores don't carry Pentax is because they fired most of their reps. Store owners like support from their reps and you can't blame them for that.

That said, the best store in Washington State for Pentax is Robi's in Tacoma. They have every lens and body save the 645 and they can get that. Their prices match Pentax official site.

They were up selling someone to the K01 just the other day.

Check them out

philbaum · 04-09-2012, 09:31 AM

Originally posted by john5100

The main reason US stores don't carry Pentax is because they fired most of their reps. Store owners like support from their reps and you can't blame them for that.

That said, the best store in Washington State for Pentax is Robi's in Tacoma. They have every lens and body save the 645 and they can get that. Their prices match Pentax official site.

They were up selling someone to the K01 just the other day.

Check them out

John, thanks for the information. Fry's only has one lens available. Robi's sounds like a much more interesting place for Pentax and they list Pentax on their website.

www.robis.com

**gofour3** · 04-09-2012, 10:34 AM

You can find Pentax for sale at these camera stores in Vancouver.

- Kerrisdale Cameras
- Leo’s Cameras
- Lens & Shutter
- Broadway Camera

Also London Drugs is a big Pentax seller and they even have the 645D.

0 Pentax 645D Body Only ;Cameras ;Cameras - Digital ;London Drugs

Phil.

DaveHolmes · 04-09-2012, 12:09 PM

Originally posted by jatrax

From what I have been told, when Hoya took over they raised the minimum order / stocking levels to a point that smaller stores could not afford to stock Pentax

I believe this is the case in the UK too and why Jessops (chain photo store in UK) is currently not stocking Pentax in stores...

Ricoh have considerably deeper pockets than Hoya did but I worry that this is not yet understood by Pentax-UK's sales and marketing teams... Hopefully they'll get a major shake-up (or a big kick!!) soon!!

Cannikin · 04-09-2012, 12:27 PM

Originally posted by john5100

That said, the best store in Washington State for Pentax is Robi's in Tacoma. They have every lens and body save the 645 and they can get that. Their prices match Pentax official site.

They were up selling someone to the K01 just the other day.

Check them out

Great, thanks for the heads up about Robi's. Tacoma is a bit far (particularly since I now live in Snohomish county), but I might stop over there sometime during my frequent trips to Mount Rainier.

parsons · 04-09-2012, 12:46 PM

what the flip is with that Q price!??!

i could understand it if it were below the K-r...

Cannikin · 04-09-2012, 01:15 PM

Originally posted by parsons

what the flip is with that Q price!??!

i could understand it if it were below the K-r...

$750 is MSRP for the Q in the US. As far as I can tell, in physical stores most relatively new cameras (and electronics in general) are sold at or near MSRP.

parsons · 04-09-2012, 04:44 PM

Originally posted by DaveHolmes

I believe this is the case in the UK too and why Jessops (chain photo store in UK) is currently not stocking Pentax in stores...

Ricoh have considerably deeper pockets than Hoya did but I worry that this is not yet understood by Pentax-UK's sales and marketing teams... Hopefully they'll get a major shake-up (or a big kick!!) soon!!

i went into a jessops in london (it was a big store) a few days ago and there was a GXR board/stand in the window and there was a Q in the mirrorless section. i didn't go to the DSLR section because i didn't see where it was.

so pentax ricoh might be heading to a jessops near you...

Pentax Cameras - Jessops < this is promising too
Pentax K-r in Black with 18-55mm Lens - 14635 - Jessops - Digital SLRs k-r available in store...
Pentax K-5 Body - 14747 - Jessops - Digital SLRs k-5 available in store...

well great is all i can say!!!

lammie200 · 04-09-2012, 05:34 PM

Only they have more demo models to mess with. The 5DII is very nice and about $3k for the body and a 24-105. I had never demoed one before. It actually felt like my K-5 with the grip attached to me. Of course the VF had the full frame feel to it which is vastly different than the K-5.

I was surprised how small the Q is. I wasn't considering one for myself, but now that I saw it I am sure that it would be too small and pricey for me to enjoy. I could see how others would want one though. They have the black Q, black K-r, and some Pentax P&S on display although they have signs for the K-5 and the red K-r. I suspect that they are probably sold out of K-r's though. I was surprised that I didn't see a K-01, but I suspect that they will start carrying it in a couple of months time.

enoxatnep · 04-11-2012, 09:58 PM

Thanks for the very insightful replies to my questions about the lack of Pentax availability in U.S. retail stores. However, they make me realize that unless Pentax massively steps up their marketing efforts, I can't see them growing in countries with little/no brick-and-mortar retail presence like the U.S. and the U.K. apart from word of mouth. If Pentax wasn't so big in Japan, I would think it would have died out a few years back! Outside of Japan, I'm wondering if Pentax isn't just holding on by a thread.

mojoe_24 · 04-12-2012, 03:04 PM

Originally posted by RioRico

I know there's a Fry's in Phoenix and I think there's one in Tucson but I avoid such cities when I'm here on the Arizona-Sonora border. I'll head back towards Lake Tahoe in a week or three (detouring around P&T); there's no Fry's in Reno, but I'll check the one in Sacramento next time I'm there. (Sac is another good place to avoid, usually.)

Where is 'here'?

Anaheim, CA.

DaveHolmes · 04-12-2012, 07:58 PM

Originally posted by parsons

i went into a jessops in london (it was a big store) a few days ago and there was a GXR board/stand in the window and there was a Q in the mirrorless section. i didn't go to the DSLR section because i didn't see where it was.
so pentax ricoh might be heading to a jessops near you...

Still very little being done by Pentax-UK in terms of advertising/profile raising of the brand... We know Ricoh have the pockets for it (deep)... Why have they not updated Hoya's marketing stategy...

Poor show...

I want to see telly adverts... K-5's & K01's on the side of buses...
When I walk into Jessops I want to see Pentax products and I want the sales assistant to be as enthused about them as the are about CaNikon (this means sending Pentax reps into store to educate sale assistants... Like they did in days of yore...)

When I go to events where every man and his dog is toting a DSLR I want to see more than mine among them...

Pentax-Ricoh-I-C have considerably deeper pockets than Pentax-Hoya did... There's not really any excuse for lazy marketing... Lazy marketing is almost worse than no marketing...

If I were the head of Ricoh... I'd be kicking some ass!

Indecent Exposure · 04-12-2012, 08:10 PM

Get use to it. Word has it. There will be quite a bit more marketplace exposure. Keep an eye on BBuy and The Ritz Hotel.

04-09-2012, 10:34 AM	#20
gofour3 Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 8,091	You can find Pentax for sale at these camera stores in Vancouver. - Kerrisdale Cameras - Leo’s Cameras - Lens & Shutter - Broadway Camera Also London Drugs is a big Pentax seller and they even have the 645D. 0 Pentax 645D Body Only ;Cameras ;Cameras - Digital ;London Drugs Phil. Last edited by gofour3; 04-09-2012 at 10:43 AM.

04-09-2012, 12:09 PM	#21
DaveHolmes Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Yorkshire Posts: 1,501	Originally posted by jatrax From what I have been told, when Hoya took over they raised the minimum order / stocking levels to a point that smaller stores could not afford to stock Pentax I believe this is the case in the UK too and why Jessops (chain photo store in UK) is currently not stocking Pentax in stores... Ricoh have considerably deeper pockets than Hoya did but I worry that this is not yet understood by Pentax-UK's sales and marketing teams... Hopefully they'll get a major shake-up (or a big kick!!) soon!! Last edited by DaveHolmes; 04-09-2012 at 12:10 PM. Reason: speilling

04-09-2012, 05:34 PM	#26
lammie200 Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: San Francisco Photos: Albums Posts: 1,033	Similar at NorCal Fry's Only they have more demo models to mess with. The 5DII is very nice and about $3k for the body and a 24-105. I had never demoed one before. It actually felt like my K-5 with the grip attached to me. Of course the VF had the full frame feel to it which is vastly different than the K-5. I was surprised how small the Q is. I wasn't considering one for myself, but now that I saw it I am sure that it would be too small and pricey for me to enjoy. I could see how others would want one though. They have the black Q, black K-r, and some Pentax P&S on display although they have signs for the K-5 and the red K-r. I suspect that they are probably sold out of K-r's though. I was surprised that I didn't see a K-01, but I suspect that they will start carrying it in a couple of months time.

04-12-2012, 07:58 PM	#29
DaveHolmes Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Yorkshire Posts: 1,501	Originally posted by parsons i went into a jessops in london (it was a big store) a few days ago and there was a GXR board/stand in the window and there was a Q in the mirrorless section. i didn't go to the DSLR section because i didn't see where it was. so pentax ricoh might be heading to a jessops near you... Still very little being done by Pentax-UK in terms of advertising/profile raising of the brand... We know Ricoh have the pockets for it (deep)... Why have they not updated Hoya's marketing stategy... Poor show... I want to see telly adverts... K-5's & K01's on the side of buses... When I walk into Jessops I want to see Pentax products and I want the sales assistant to be as enthused about them as the are about CaNikon (this means sending Pentax reps into store to educate sale assistants... Like they did in days of yore...) When I go to events where every man and his dog is toting a DSLR I want to see more than mine among them... Pentax-Ricoh-I-C have considerably deeper pockets than Pentax-Hoya did... There's not really any excuse for lazy marketing... Lazy marketing is almost worse than no marketing... If I were the head of Ricoh... I'd be kicking some ass! Last edited by DaveHolmes; 04-12-2012 at 08:00 PM. Reason: speiling

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04-09-2012, 05:18 AM	#16
jatrax Site Supporter Join Date: May 2010 Location: Washington Cascades Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,991	Originally posted by enoxatnep Or is it just a pitifully low market share in those places that doesn't justify retailers carrying Pentax? I travel the USA quite a bit on business and when I have down time in a city I usually check for cameras stores. I have never seen a new Pentax camera at any retail store. Many places have a used section, and if you speak to the staff or owners they will comment nostalgically about when they used to carry Pentax. Several stores I have been in still have Spotmatics proudly on display, under glass and for display not for sale. From what I have been told, when Hoya took over they raised the minimum order / stocking levels to a point that smaller stores could not afford to stock Pentax. I assumed this had happened in other countries as well. Glad you Canadians can still pick up a Pentax and hold it in a store. Enjoy that, and protect those stores by making purchases there, because when they are gone they never come back. I really hope Ricoh can get Pentax boxes back into real stores. I still think the majority of purchases will be online, but often the purchasing decision is made in a real store where you can pick up the camera. And if brick & mortar prices are within 10% of online, then a lot of people will make the purchase in the store rather than online. And sales mean more shelf space, which in turn means more sales.

04-09-2012, 05:29 AM	#17
RioRico Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Limbo, California Posts: 11,263	Originally posted by enoxatnep I find that so crazy, because here in Alberta - the province where I live - there is hardly a camera "specialty" store that DOESN'T have Pentax products. Interesting - I mean, I wonder why a major American city wouldn't have Pentax in a ton of places when we do? I've also read other comments like this in these forums about other places in the U.S. and in other countries. I wonder if it's the ineffectiveness of the Pentax reps in some places, or the over-effectiveness of the Canon and Nikon reps out there? Or is it just a pitifully low market share in those places that doesn't justify retailers carrying Pentax? I've read that 1) Pre-Hoya Pentax didn't market well in USA anyway, and 2) Hoya-Pentax wouldn't front cameras to USA retailers, and required large stocking orders. B&M shops didn't want to pay for inventory to sit on their shelves, so they stopped carrying Pentax. On fronting gear: In the post-modern era, Nikon and Canon placed cameras etc on store shelves and didn't get paid until stuff sold. Canikon lost piles of money when Ritz went bankrupt. Many megabucks of inventory was liquidated to pay lenders, not suppliers. Pentax required stores to pay for their stock, and so were immune to the bankruptsy. But B&M's prefer to be fronted the merchandise, so few stores in USA stock Pentax. BTW bankrupt Ritz was absorbed by Wolfe and that chain still barely exists, I think. Their house brand? Promaster.

04-09-2012, 07:42 AM - 2 Likes	#18
john5100 Veteran Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 1,725	The main reason US stores don't carry Pentax is because they fired most of their reps. Store owners like support from their reps and you can't blame them for that. That said, the best store in Washington State for Pentax is Robi's in Tacoma. They have every lens and body save the 645 and they can get that. Their prices match Pentax official site. They were up selling someone to the K01 just the other day. Check them out

04-09-2012, 09:31 AM	#19
philbaum Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Port Townsend, Washington State, USA Posts: 3,659	Originally posted by john5100 The main reason US stores don't carry Pentax is because they fired most of their reps. Store owners like support from their reps and you can't blame them for that. That said, the best store in Washington State for Pentax is Robi's in Tacoma. They have every lens and body save the 645 and they can get that. Their prices match Pentax official site. They were up selling someone to the K01 just the other day. Check them out John, thanks for the information. Fry's only has one lens available. Robi's sounds like a much more interesting place for Pentax and they list Pentax on their website. www.robis.com

04-09-2012, 12:27 PM	#22
Cannikin Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: SW Washington Posts: 833 Original Poster	Originally posted by john5100 That said, the best store in Washington State for Pentax is Robi's in Tacoma. They have every lens and body save the 645 and they can get that. Their prices match Pentax official site. They were up selling someone to the K01 just the other day. Check them out Great, thanks for the heads up about Robi's. Tacoma is a bit far (particularly since I now live in Snohomish county), but I might stop over there sometime during my frequent trips to Mount Rainier.

04-09-2012, 12:46 PM	#23
parsons Inactive Account Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: ENGLAND Posts: 389	what the flip is with that Q price!??! i could understand it if it were below the K-r...

04-09-2012, 01:15 PM	#24
Cannikin Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: SW Washington Posts: 833 Original Poster	Originally posted by parsons what the flip is with that Q price!??! i could understand it if it were below the K-r... $750 is MSRP for the Q in the US. As far as I can tell, in physical stores most relatively new cameras (and electronics in general) are sold at or near MSRP.

04-09-2012, 04:44 PM	#25
parsons Inactive Account Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: ENGLAND Posts: 389	Originally posted by DaveHolmes I believe this is the case in the UK too and why Jessops (chain photo store in UK) is currently not stocking Pentax in stores... Ricoh have considerably deeper pockets than Hoya did but I worry that this is not yet understood by Pentax-UK's sales and marketing teams... Hopefully they'll get a major shake-up (or a big kick!!) soon!! i went into a jessops in london (it was a big store) a few days ago and there was a GXR board/stand in the window and there was a Q in the mirrorless section. i didn't go to the DSLR section because i didn't see where it was. so pentax ricoh might be heading to a jessops near you... Pentax Cameras - Jessops < this is promising too Pentax K-r in Black with 18-55mm Lens - 14635 - Jessops - Digital SLRs k-r available in store... Pentax K-5 Body - 14747 - Jessops - Digital SLRs k-5 available in store... well great is all i can say!!!

04-11-2012, 09:58 PM	#27
enoxatnep Closed Account Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: The edge of nowhere, Alberta, Canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 467	Thanks for the very insightful replies to my questions about the lack of Pentax availability in U.S. retail stores. However, they make me realize that unless Pentax massively steps up their marketing efforts, I can't see them growing in countries with little/no brick-and-mortar retail presence like the U.S. and the U.K. apart from word of mouth. If Pentax wasn't so big in Japan, I would think it would have died out a few years back! Outside of Japan, I'm wondering if Pentax isn't just holding on by a thread.

04-12-2012, 03:04 PM	#28
mojoe_24 Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 241	Originally posted by RioRico I know there's a Fry's in Phoenix and I think there's one in Tucson but I avoid such cities when I'm here on the Arizona-Sonora border. I'll head back towards Lake Tahoe in a week or three (detouring around P&T); there's no Fry's in Reno, but I'll check the one in Sacramento next time I'm there. (Sac is another good place to avoid, usually.) Where is 'here'? Anaheim, CA.

04-12-2012, 08:10 PM	#30
Indecent Exposure Inactive Account Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Michigan Photos: Albums Posts: 78	Get use to it. Word has it. There will be quite a bit more marketplace exposure. Keep an eye on BBuy and The Ritz Hotel.